San Francisco Wrongful Death Lawyer

San Francisco as a city is generally a safe place where both locals and tourists alike can enjoy their time without having to worry about their well being, however, San Francisco is no stranger to fatal accidents. According to a statewide crash and injury data report from the California Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), San Francisco has had over 4,000 injuries and fatalities on average for the past three years.

As negligent drivers, riders, cyclists, violent crimes, and negligent crimes occur on a daily basis, anyone can become a victim to any of these crimes or accidents. As a result, the chances of a wrongful death occurring is more likely and unexpected than one would think. If you lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, you may be eligible to file a wrongful death suit to hold the responsible parties accountable for their actions.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, our San Francisco wrongful death attorneys are experienced in handling wrongful death claims with the respect and integrity that it deserves. We are a personal injury law firm with over 20 years of legal experience and our team of attorneys are confident that they can get you the financial compensation you deserve for your losses.

We have recovered over $1.6 billion in financial compensation for our clients and we are ready to help guide you through the legal process of a wrongful death claim. While there is no amount of money that can ever replace a life, we can assure our clients that we will get them a fair compensation to cover all unexpected costs such as funeral expenses and medical bills. On top of all that, our attorneys will be there 24/7 to address any questions or concerns you may have about your case.

We run on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay no fees until you win. To schedule a FREE consultation, you can get in touch with us by calling us at (213) 927-3700 or by filling out our quick online contact form.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death in San Francisco

From what is typically seen in San Francisco, car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, criminal violence, medical malpractice, and defective products are some of the most common causes for a wrongful death in the city. With that in mind, if you are filing for a wrongful death lawsuit, it is important to understand the differences between some of these causes as each type of claim has their own set of challenges and complexities that not a lot of people are aware of.

Car Accidents

Car accident fatalities can happen at any given moment and according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, they have determined in a 2021 Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash report that there were an estimated 6,102,936 police-reported traffic crashes with about 42,939 people killed. In an adjacent CDC distracted driving report, over 3,100 people were killed and about 424,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2019.

As negligent drivers are reported to cause more car accidents than any other available cause, the chances of a fatal accident and an unexpected death to come into fruition in this scenario can happen when you least expect it. For those who are looking to pursue a wrongful death claim, it is important that you gather evidence that the driver who caused the accident was negligent in their actions or in their behavior.

Motorcycle Accidents

According to a motorcycle accident report by the National Safety Council (NSC), motorcyclists accounted for 14.6% of all traffic fatalities in 2022. One of the main reasons for this is that motorcycles, compared to standard cars, are smaller and oftentimes are overlooked by other drivers. If drivers are not attentive to their surroundings they may not notice a motorcyclist nearby and accidentally crash into them.

As motorcycle riders are more susceptible to serious injuries in a traffic collision, it is always urged for drivers to make careful observations of the road prior to doing a lane change or turn. However, the NSC motorcycle accident report reveals that about 72% motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes were not impaired, but instead were victims to drunk drivers on the road. If you are filing a wrongful death claim for a motorcycle accident, it is important that the victim’s surviving family members seek legal assistance if their loved one’s death was due to the negligence of another party.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians are undoubtedly very vulnerable when they are out on the street. According to a pedestrian safety report conducted by the CDC, nearly 8,000 pedestrians were killed due to motor vehicle accidents in 2021, which is calculated to be about one death every 66 minutes. As a result, wrongful death cases that involve a deceased pedestrian are considered to be some of the most straight-forward wrongful death cases, because the negligent party would assume all legal responsibility for the accident in question.

Criminal Violence

In the first half of 2021, San Francisco has had an estimate of 119 crimes involving gun violence. Police officers have reportedly found more unregistered ghost guns than ever before, which does raise safety concerns for those living in or visiting San Francisco. In addition, the number of larceny theft has drastically increased throughout the years, with the San Francisco Police Department reporting over 30,000 cases of larceny theft in a 2023 crime data sheet.

As the number of theft increases, so do the chances of wrongful deaths for those who are trying to prevent theft. While the number of homicides is considerably low in San Francisco, there are over 2,300 cases of aggravated assault and robberies in the city. With that in mind, San Francisco wrongful death cases that involve criminal violence require an experienced attorney, because this type of suit ventures into criminal cases and the legal process is typically handled differently than personal injury suits.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice refers to the act where a doctor or medical facility commits improper and reckless treatment that leads to the injury/death of a patient. According to the World Health Organization’s patient safety report, around 1 in every 10 patients is harmed due to medical malpractice. While medical malpractice cases are one of the purest examples of workplace negligence, they are hard to prove unless there is undeniable proof that the medical professional did not exercise reasonable care.

One of the reasons that medical malpractice is hard to prove is because according to California wrongful death laws, doctors cannot be held liable for medical malpractice if a patient dies due to an untreatable or incurable disease or condition. While this may seem unfair and tragic to the victim’s family, there are limits to modern medicine for certain conditions. However, if your loved one has perished due to any of the following actions then it can be classified as medical malpractice.

• Deliberately ignoring lab results
• Incorrectly diagnosing a patient
• Not reading the lab results correctly
• Making mistakes during a procedure
• Failing to notice the patient’s symptoms
• Recommending unnecessary surgeries
• Assigning the wrong medication/dosage
• Ordering the wrong lab tests
• Not properly setting up a follow-up or aftercare
• Showing a lack of care or attention for a patient’s past history of health problems

Defective Products

While a wrongful death from a defective product may seem rare, the chances of it happening in the most unexpected scenarios is more devastating than you would imagine. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in a Consumer Product-Related Injuries and Deaths report, there were an estimated 50,900 deaths associated with consumer products in 2019.

As a result, if someone sustains fatal injuries from a defective product, the victim’s surviving family members can hire a wrongful death attorney to file a claim against the manufacturer, the distributor, and even the company that produces the defective product. If there are many wrongful death lawsuits coming from the same company or distributor then a class action lawsuit can be filed for the gross negligence of the company for allowing such a mistake to harm that many people.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?

According to California’s wrongful death laws, specifically section 377.60 of California’s Civil Code, only certain family members such as parents, siblings, and spouses can file for a wrongful death claim. However, if there are no immediate family members or spouse to file a claim for the deceased person, then an assigned beneficiary or personal representative can file a claim. If you are a distant relative and are unsure whether or not you can file a claim for the deceased, then it is recommended to seek legal advice from an experienced attorney who specializes in wrongful death cases.

How to Prove a Wrongful Death

In order to prove that a wrongful death has occurred, the plaintiff must show convincing proof that the defendant has breached their duty of care or showcased gross negligence, which ultimately led to the death of their loved one. The legal standard for negligence in the state of California will consider the following three elements: Duty of Care, Breach of Reasonable Care, and Causation.

Duty of Care

Duty of care is referred to as a legal obligation that individuals and/or organizations have to act in a manner that avoids causing harm or injury to others. This concept primarily assigns a general sense of responsibility and accountability to prevent any negligent actions to occur. So the plaintiff must gather evidence and show proof of the defendant owing a duty of care to the deceased victim. For example, hospitals and medical institutions have a duty of care to all of their patients to ensure that they will do the best of their ability to heal whatever injuries or ailments they may have.

Breach of Reasonable Care

A breach of care typically occurs when a person or an established institution fails to meet the standard of care expected in a particular situation. More specifically, this breach occurs when a person fails to act reasonably and their actions have led to the injury/death of a person. For example, if a bus driver causes a tragic motor vehicle accident because they were under the influence of alcohol, then the bus driver has breached their duty of care to their passengers and would become the responsible party for any personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

Causation

The plaintiff is required to show proof that the defendant’s breach of duty of care was the reason why the victim was killed. Following the previous examples, the bus driver being under the influence and driving recklessly is what caused the car accident that led to the wrongful death of the victim.

The plaintiff may also show proof of being financially and/or emotionally harmed as a result of the defendant’s actions. This can appear in the form of evidence such as costly medical bills, funeral and burial expenses, loss of earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, and pain and suffering after the passing of their loved one.

Available Damages in a Wrongful Death Case

Damages in most wrongful death cases will be distributed based on the type of loss the deceased victim’s heir(s) and immediate family has endured. As such, if the plaintiff is successful in proving wrongful death damages, then they will be granted economic and non-economic damages. 

However, in the most severe/complex cases, the victim’s family members can sue for punitive damages to ensure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future. So if you are going to take legal action against a negligent party, it is important to understand what kind of damages you can recover.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are designed to compensate an accident victim for losses where a dollar amount can be objectively calculated. The total amount of compensation for economic damages is usually calculated by determining the amount of out-of-pocket losses an injured or deceased person has or will expect to incur as a result. A few examples of economic losses include financial support, lost wages, medical expenses, and any other financial burden that might occur in a wrongful death claim.

Non-Economic Damages

On the other hand, non-economic damages are intended to compensate an injury victim or the surviving family members for losses that are thought of as subjective. For example, non-economic damages such as loss of companionship, moral support, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life are all subjective and extremely hard to put a price on. So in wrongful death cases, the total amount would be dependent on how traumatic the accident was and how badly it has affected those close to them.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are a rare type of damages awarded in wrongful death claims due to their design to punish instead of award. Suing for punitive damages means that the responsible parties are punished for their conduct and behavior, which may have been determined as excessively reckless or malicious by the courts.

This is meant to reform and deter others from committing a similar crime while setting a future precedent for a similar crime. While the surviving spouse or family would not receive any monetary compensation, they instead would be receiving closure and a sense of justice being served to the responsible party.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Wrongful Death?

The victim’s heir(s), immediate family, and spouse are given two years, starting from the initial date of the death or discovery of the death, to file a lawsuit as per section 335.1 of California’s Civil Code. If there is no lawsuit filed within this period of time, then the victim’s heir(s) and family will lose the right to file a claim.

However, there are a few exceptions that may apply. If the plaintiff is a minor, in jail, legally insane, living out-of-state, or disabled, then the two year rule may be extended to properly accommodate their situation. It is encouraged for those suffering the loss of a loved one to hire an experienced San Francisco personal injury attorney as soon as possible so they can get a start on the legal process.

West Coast Trial Lawyers Is Here to Help

If your loved one’s death was due to someone else’s negligence, then it is important to hire an experienced wrongful death lawyer so you can get the justice and closure you deserve for your tragic loss. As wrongful death claims are difficult to process on your own, you want an experienced attorney who can handle your case with the care and attention that it deserves.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, our team of wrongful death lawyers are well versed in California law and will fight for your loved one’s death to ensure that both justice and financial compensation is awarded to the surviving family members. With over 20 years of legal experience, our team of attorneys have seen many different types of wrongful death claims and are confident that they can get you the compensation you deserve for your losses.

We have recovered over $1.6 billion in financial compensation for our clients and we will continue to do our duty to represent our clients interests and ensure that those responsible will face justice for their actions. No matter what kind of wrongful death claim you have, our wrongful death lawyers will be there to give you the legal assistance you need and address any concerns you may have about your case.

We run on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay no fees until you win. To schedule a FREE initial consultation, we welcome you to reach out to our 24/7 legal team by calling us at (213) 927-3700 or by completing our easy online contact form.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wrongful Death Claims In San Francisco

Is It Hard to Win a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

The difficulty of a wrongful death case will be dependent on a case-by-case basis, however, any lawsuits against a large government or medical institution will be more complex to handle, due to the amount of proof required to establish liability. So if you are unsure about the chances of your wrongful death claim winning in court, it is recommended to consult with an experienced wrongful death attorney.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death in San Francisco?

Section 335.1 of California’s Civil Code states that any assault, battery, injury, and death of an individual that is caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another has a statute of limitation for 2 years from the incident date. With that in mind, if you wait to file a claim, you risk waiving your right to recover damages for the deceased person.

As filing a wrongful death case can become a time consuming task depending on the severity and complexity of the accident, it is always recommended to start as soon as possible or else your case might get dismissed at court.

How Much Can You Sue for Wrongful Death in California?

Wrongful death lawsuits tend to average around the six to seven figure range and this range ensures the surviving family members that all associated and unexpected costs such as funeral expenses and medical bills are covered. In addition, there should be enough left over to accommodate the grieving family to use at their discretion.

How Much Does A San Francisco Wrongful Death Lawyer Cost?

Typically, most personal injury lawyers will operate under a contingency based system, which means they won’t get paid unless they win the wrongful death case or receive a fair settlement offer for their client. So when they achieve either result, they can charge a fee anywhere between 25%-40%, however, most will tend to charge a competitive rate of 33%. If you are worried about paying any upfront costs, most wrongful death attorneys usually offer a free consultation.